Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is used to treat a wide range of chronic neuropathic pain conditions by delivering electrical stimulation to select portions of the spinal cord. In the past, SCS therapy has been proposed in which a therapy is defined by one or more pulses have a select pulse width, frequency and intensity. The pulse width, frequency and intensity may be changed, along with electrode configuration and placement on the spinal column in connection with pain relief for individual patients.
NS systems are devices that generate electrical pulses and deliver the pulses to nervous tissue to treat a variety of disorders. For example, spinal cord stimulation has been used to treat chronic and intractable pain. The application of electrical pulses to certain regions or areas of nervous tissue can effectively reduce the number of pain signals that reach the brain. SCS therapy, delivered via epidurally implanted electrodes, is a widely used treatment for chronic intractable neuropathic pain of different origins. Applying electrical energy to the spinal cord associated with regions of the body afflicted with chronic pain can induce “paresthesia” (a subjective sensation of numbness or tingling) in the afflicted bodily regions. Traditional tonic therapy evokes paresthesia covering painful areas of a patient. During SCS therapy calibration, the paresthesia is identified and localized to the painful areas by the patient.
Stimulation of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) has shown promising clinical results in managing chronic pain in targeted anatomy such as the foot, groin and phantom limb and other peripheral neuropathies. By stimulating the DRG, therapy can be adjusted to cover either broad or specific areas of pain throughout the torso and legs, while limiting uncomfortable postural effects typically experienced with traditional SCS.
A need remains for improved methods and systems for managing stimulation parameters in connection with targeting stimulation of select types of nerve fibers.